In the Milky Way galaxy…circling a star called
the sun…is a small planet inhabited by intelligent life....Earthlings
have always been curious creatures…
ARABELLA THE SPIDER
One
space science experiment was designed by a high-school student in
Massachusetts. It involved two spiders, Anita and Arabella. The
student wanted to find out how well they could make webs in weightless
conditions. Their first attempts at web spinning were not perfect,
but once the spiders adapted to space, they built strong and well-organized
webs.
SPACE FIRE
It
is known that factors such as gravity and airflow influence the
spread of an Earth fire, but what might affect a space fire? Tests
have show that space flames form a sphere rather than the pointed
shape they have on Earth. They also lean strongly when subjected
to an electric field which has no effect on Earth flames.
BABY BOOM
The
first Earth creature to be born in space emerged from its shell
in March 22, 1990. The quail chick was the result of an experiment
aboard Mir. Forty-eight Japanese quail eggs had been flown to the
space station and placed inside a special incubator with ventilation,
feeding, heating, wasted removal, and storage systems attached.
Then astronauts on Mir and scientists on Earth waited. On the 17th
day,the first eggs began to crack open and six chicks broke free,
one after the other. The birth made little impact beyond the work
of space biologists, but it marked a key moment in research into
reproduction in space, which will be used to plan for the future.